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Southeastern cuisine ’

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Editor’s note: In Salih Seçkin Sevinç, creator of the fantastic Turkish-language food blog Harbi Yiyorum (loosely translated as “Eating, For Real”) we’ve found a kindred spirit and a source for great eating tips. We’ve asked Salih to share with our readers some of his culinary wisdom this week. This is his fourth and final post about the mind-blowing food scene in Southeast Turkey’s Gaziantep.

When we were in Antep we didn’t just eat kebab, of course. We asked for the best katmer around. Ciğerci Asef advised us on how to find the lord of the masters of katmer, a breakfast pastry made out of sheets of phyllo dough wrapped around kaymak and chopped pistachios (pictured above). It has been said that the people of Antep eat liver kebab and katmer at breakfast, and then they don’t put another thing into their mouths till evening? Is that true? Absolutely!

Locals describe the kaymak that is used inside katmer as “kaymağın, kaymağı” – literally the “creme de la creme.” The pistachio and kaymak inside the warm layers of the katmer generates an incomparable flavor balance in your mouth and stomach and, yes, you never want to eat anything else until evening. Continue…

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Hanging On to History: Edible Nostalgia in Samatya
no responses - Posted
05.08.18
That much of the past seems to stick to Samatya is a marvel in Istanbul, a city being rebuilt and “restored” at an alarming pace.
First, there’s the question of its name. Occupying a stretch of the Marmara Sea and squeezed between the old city walls and Kumkapı, an area home to a rotating cast of eclectic restaurants, the neighborhood still ... continue

Spring Surprises: Skewering the First Fruits in Istanbul
no responses - Posted
04.25.18
It was the first of April and an absolutely pristine Istanbul spring day, the kind where one can break a slight sweat walking up a hill then catch a cool breeze in a nearby patch of shade. Returning to the city from a lovely weekend on Büyükada, we were smitten with spring and wanted to indulge in its finest offerings.
In ... continue

Farewell, Pando: An Istanbul Culinary Legend Passes On
no responses - Posted
04.16.18
It’s Saturday around lunchtime and business as usual in the bustling Beşiktaş Çarşı neighborhood, as crowds of mostly younger people fill the narrow streets. Down on Mumcu Bakkal Sokak, a pedestrian-only street lined with miniscule shops, a line around the block has been formed by those eager to get into one of the city’s best döner spots.
For many of those ... continue

Bağdat Ocakbaşı: Licensed to Grill
no responses - Posted
04.09.18
Istanbul’s T1 tramway is relatively pleasant if you can find a seat, but borders on unbearable if you are on your feet.
Back in 2015, we wrote about a trip we took from the line’s first stop all the way to one of its last, which lies way out in the district of Güngören. By the time the tram has made ... continue

Dose & Istos Café: Greek Revival
no responses - Posted
03.30.18
A café at its best is so much more than the sum of its parts: it’s a place where people can easily mingle, share ideas, and dertleşmek, or commiserate over their troubles, all while imbibing caffeine. At the same time, it’s a place where visitors might feel an invisible thread of common beliefs connecting them, an unspoken camaraderie, even if ... continue

Back to the Land: Urban Turks Tackle Rural Life
no responses - Posted
03.23.18
When Buket Ulukut first moved from Istanbul to a rural plot of land in the foothills of the Taurus Mountains in southern Turkey, she was leading a double life.
“I’d be taking calls from clients in Europe while out amidst the rows of peppers and eggplants, hoping they didn’t hear the rooster crowing in the background,” says Ulukut, who worked in ... continue

Semt Pazarları, Civic Life Perfected
no responses - Posted
03.09.18
“Two kilos five liraaa! Two kilos five liraaa!” bellowed a young and exuberant vendor of tomatoes to the ongoing stream of frugal-minded shoppers making their way through the snaking Tarlabaşı Sunday Market.
Hundreds of sellers of fresh produce, dairy, seafood, kitchenware, clothing, smuggled tobacco, jewelry, fresh baked goods and numerous other items set up side by side in the central Istanbul ... continue

Istanbul Eats on the Road: Mystic Liver in Antep 1 response - Posted 10.12.10
Editor’s note: In Salih Seçkin Sevinç, creator of the fantastic Turkish-language food blog Harbi Yiyorum (roughly translated as “Eating, For Real” in English), we’ve found a kindred spirit and a source for great eating tips. We’ve asked Salih to share with our readers some of his culinary wisdom this week. ...continue

Istanbul Eats on the Road: Eating For Real in Antep 6 responses - Posted 10.11.10
Editor’s note: In Salih Seçkin Sevinç, creator of the fantastic Turkish-language food blog Harbi Yiyorum (roughly translated as “Eating, For Real” in English), we’ve found a kindred spirit and a source for great eating tips. We’ve asked Salih to share with our readers some of his culinary wisdom and this ...continue

Turkish Food, Coming to a Freezer Section Near You 4 responses - Posted 09.27.10
Turkey (the meat) has long been a staple of frozen TV dinners. It appears that soon Turkey (the country) is also going to be a major player in the frozen food department.
According to an article in this weekend's Hurriyet Daily News, the ambitious owners of Sahan, a Turkish chain of ...continue

Istanbul Eats on the Road: Viva Van Breakfast! 3 responses - Posted 09.24.10
For breakfast lovers, the experience of arriving in the eastern Turkish city of Van is akin to what a gambler might feel upon showing up in Las Vegas – overwhelmed by the options and the promise of a serious payout.
Van, of course, is the home and birthplace of the monstrous ...continue

Urfali Haci Usta: In the Bosom of Abraham 2 responses - Posted 08.09.10
Like Turkish foreign policy, we could easily be accused of “tilting east” these days. Just after making our way to Fatih’s Öz Kilis, we soon found ourselves trawling the streets of the nearby Aksaray neighborhood in search of food from another southeastern Turkish city near the Syrian border, in this ...continue

Öz Kilis: Kebab That Deserves to Be Panned 4 responses - Posted 08.02.10
In Turkish popular lore, the denizens of Kilis, a town in southeastern Turkey right near the Syrian border, are known for two things: kebab-making and smuggling. We haven’t been to Kilis, so we can’t vouch for the smuggling bit. But we did recently have lunch at Öz Kilis, a wonderful ...continue

EatingAsia Hits Southeast Turkey! 2 responses - Posted 06.30.10
The folks behind EatingAsia, the web's most mouthwatering food blog, are in Turkey and recently made a long journey through the country's southeast region. The blog has several posts up reporting on their finds in the region and are well worth checking out. You can find EatingAsia here. continue

Pamuk Usta’s Nohut Dürüm: Garbanzo Gone Gonzo 3 responses - Posted 06.21.10
In previous posts, we’ve reported on the unusual eating habits in Turkey’s hot and dusty Southeast. In Gaziantep, we noted the “wake and flake” baklava breakfast. In Urfa it was a morning dose of grilled liver. But in the town of Nizip (and elsewhere in the area), the favored first ...continue

Antebi: Straight Outta Antep 8 responses - Posted 06.04.10
On Saturday afternoon, in the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep, our baklava was neatly wrapped with plastic and then paper, tagged “Antebi, Istanbul” in black marker and escorted to the bus station by either Levent or Bülent of Zeki İnal Baklavacısı. While we slept that night, our baklava passed through ...continue